Linux 3.3 Released

Changes in the new Linux 3.3 release include the merge of kernel code from the Android project.

Linus Torvalds has released Linux 3.3. According to the release summary at kernelnewbies.org, the most important change is the merge of kernel code from the Android project.

The website states, “For a long time, code from the Android project has not been merged back to the Linux repositories due to disagreement between developers from both projects. Fortunately, after several years the differences are being ironed out. Various Android subsystems and features have already been merged, and more will follow in the future. This will make things easier for everybody, including the Android mod community, or Linux distributions that want to support Android programs.”

Other changes include support for a new architecture (TI C6X), improved balancing, and the ability to restripe between different RAID profiles in Btrfs. Network improvements include: a virtual switch implementation (Open vSwitch) designed for virtualization scenarios, a faster and more scalable alternative to the “bonding” driver, a configurable limit to the transmission queue of the network devices to fight bufferbloat, and a network priority control group and per-cgroup TCP buffer limits. Many small features and new drivers and fixes are also available.

Kernel developer and Novell coworker Greg Kroah-Hartman manages new drivers in a separate tree for the Linux drivers project. He most recently reported that a few projects will have to depart from Kernel 2.6.33, among them also Google.